Welcome to DECISION

THE STUDY

Overview

Driver Effect of Cognitive Impairment and Spatial Orientation and Navigation (DECISION for short) is a research study funded by the UK Department for Transport.

The study investigates how everyday car driving can change in older drivers.

The study is currently paused while we analyse the existing data.

Thank you to our 1000+ participants who contributed to this phase of the study. We are grateful for your time, and will send a summary of the study results in due course.

Aims

Maintaining independence is an important aspect of healthy aging. Retaining the ability to drive safely is often reported as key to maintaining independence. As we age, our thinking and decision-making ability changes. Some of these changes may help us drive more safely, but other changes may increase our risk of being involved in a driving incident.

The DECISION Study seeks to identify which age-related changes in thinking ability predict safe versus unsafe driving. We will use this information to develop new assessments that can help older people drive safely and independently as they age.

Methods

We use a combination of established questionnaires and psychology tasks, combined with innovative new assessments, to create driver-specific profiles. We then analyse how different profiles predict different driving styles.

All of this can be done online, so you can take part in the study from anywhere in the world, and it should take you no longer than 90 minutes to complete.

Recruitment

The study is currently paused while we analyse the existing data.

Thank you to our 1000+ participants who contributed to this phase of the study. We are grateful for your time, and will send a summary of the study results in due course.

ELIGIBILITY

The study is currently paused while we analyse the existing data.

Thank you to our 1000+ participants who contributed to this phase of the study. We are grateful for your time, and will send a summary of the study results in due course.

To participate in our study, you needed to meet all of the following criteria:

Aged at least 65 years.
Holder of a valid driving licence.
Currently driving.

Prof. Michael Hornberger

Prof. Hornberger is the Professor of Applied Dementia Research at the Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia. Prof. Hornberger is the lead researcher of the DECISION Study.

Dr. Mary Fisher-Morris

Dr. Morris is a chartered psychologist and sits on the Secretary of State for Transport’s Honorary Medical Advisory Panel on Driving and Psychiatric Disorders. Dr. Fisher-Morris is co-lead of the DECISION Study.

Dr. Stephen Jeffs

Dr. Stephen Jeffs is a research psychologist with extensive expertise in testing older participants. Dr. Jeffs is the research associate for the DECISION project and will lead the recrtuiment and testing of participants.

Sol Morrissey

Sol Morrissey has joined the DECISION project as a PhD student at Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia. Sol is conducting research in outdoor behaviour in ageing and dementia, and has a background in cognitive neuroscience and psychology.

If you have any questions or comments about the study, including any technical issues while completing the study, please email us via decision.study@uea.ac.uk

Photos on this website come from Unsplash

THE STUDY

Overview

Aims

Methods

Recruitment

ELIGIBILITY

Prof. Michael Hornberger

Dr. Mary Fisher-Morris

Dr. Stephen Jeffs

Sol Morrissey

EDP Article for Dementia Awareness Week

The Sunday Times Article

Alzheimer’s Research UK Press Release

Race Against Dementia Blog

Eastern Daily Press Article

UEA Research News